معرفی
Dr. Laura Schulz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on placental development and its influence by maternal physiological conditions, particularly exploring leptin signaling in placental function. She investigates how maternal environment, such as nutrient availability or exposure to toxins, impacts placental health and fetal development, with implications for gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and long-term offspring health. Collaborations with Animal Sciences and Ob/Gyn departments extend her work to human trophoblast differentiation models.
Dr. Schulz holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2002). Her lab uses transgenic mice, trophoblast stem cells, and in vitro organoid models to study placental biology. Key areas include maternal myostatin deficiency effects on offspring bone strength, leptin’s role in placental development, and the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD).
Her publications span placental morphology, metabolic programming, and environmental toxin impacts, with a focus on translating findings to human health through stem cell models. Research highlights include modeling preeclampsia and understanding how maternal hyperglycemia influences offspring obesity susceptibility.
